Hey, Everybody!

[Rick Shelton]

New member here. I've been lurking for a little while and thought I would go ahead and jump in... expand my horizons, so to speak. :) I am a self employed remodeling contractor. I was a senior design engineer with Nortel, but when telecomm when south, I went elsewhere (best thing that ever happened to me). I've been in the business for ~3 years now and loving every minute of it. My current projects are a builtin wall unit for a customer and a mahogany hall table for my wife. My shop is ~13' x 23'. I get quite a bit of work done in this small shop, though an outbuilding is in my future. I've found the secret to a small shop is organization and cleaning between projects. Below are a few pictures of my shop.

http://img134.exs.cx/img134/5245/dscn07097vc.jpg
http://img134.exs.cx/img134/3740/dscn07105im.jpg
http://img134.exs.cx/img134/8997/shoppic16de.jpg
http://img174.exs.cx/img174/5281/planecabinet9bu.jpg

Thanks for looking.

[Mark Duksta]

Rick, that sure is a clean shop! Thanks for sharing and welcome.

Mark

[David Wilson]

Rick
Welcome aboard. Shop looks great but it is too clean. Does it get cleaned like this after every project?

[Bill Lewis]

Rick,

Nice looking setup there. I see you were able to run your DC ducting above the ceiling like I am doing. I think is is a very clean look, and it doesn't take away any headroom.

I also noticed that you modified the BS to have the additional side port on the lower door, did you find this necessary to do even with the delta 5" optional port? Have you drilled holes in the throat plate too?

I see that your DC exhaust goes in to a closet, how are you getting exhausted air back in to the shop?

[Rick Shelton]

Rick
Welcome aboard.
Thanks.



Shop looks great but it is too clean. Does it get cleaned like this after every project?
For the most part. At the end of the day I run the shopvac around, takes about 5 minutes. I like starting the day with a clean shop. You're also seeing a picture of it empty. Right now there are 3 base units and 2 bookshelves stacked up in the back area.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Rick,

Welcome to SMC! You have joined a great forum! I wish that I would keep my shop that clean! I just can't bring myself to do it, for whatever reason.

Be sure to post pics of the built in wall unit and the table for LOML when they are finished!

[Rick Shelton]

Rick,

Nice looking setup there. I see you were able to run your DC ducting above the ceiling like I am doing. I think is is a very clean look, and it doesn't take away any headroom.

I also noticed that you modified the BS to have the additional side port on the lower door, did you find this necessary to do even with the delta 5" optional port? Have you drilled holes in the throat plate too?

I see that your DC exhaust goes in to a closet, how are you getting exhausted air back in to the shop?
Yeah, I was blessed with 9' ceilings in the basement. The duct work runs down a utility corridor and up and between the joists to each drop.

On the BS mod... I found that the extra hole improved dust collection considerably. Before, I saw quite a bit of dust coming up and around the upper wheel. The Delta port has been choked down to a 4" since I have another 4" going through the door. On the Delta port, the hole at the blade would not be big enough to pull 5" of air through, anyhow. I haven't drilled any holes in the throat plate. I think another thing that helps with dust collection is making sure that the TPI count (and thus the gullets) of the blade are big enough to pull the sawdust down through the throat plate (based on what you're cutting, of course).

The area above the drop tile and the area above the utility corridor are common, so between the holes around the drops and the space underneath the two doors, makeup air hasn't been an issue. I had originally thought of replacing one of the drop tiles with an air filter, but haven't seen the need. One way I tested this was to crack one of the doors and see if it pulled open when I turned on the cyclone. One of the advantages of exhausting outside of the shop (other than saving space) is that it creates negative air pressure within the shop, helping to keep dust from migrating out and into the rest of the basement/house.

Thanks for your comments.

[Rick Shelton]

Rick,

Welcome to SMC! You have joined a great forum! I wish that I would keep my shop that clean! I just can't bring myself to do it, for whatever reason.

Be sure to post pics of the built in wall unit and the table for LOML when they are finished!
Thanks.

Ok, just so ya'll don't get the wrong idea about me, I went down and took a current photo. You can see the builtin stacked in the back, doors leaning against the wall, and the hall table on the workbench being finished. Hope this makes it look a little more "lived in". :p

http://img48.exs.cx/img48/1641/dscn07158jp.jpg

[Corey Hallagan]

Welcome! I am new here as well. Incredible shop! I am not even going to show you guys pictures of my shop!

Corey

[Mark Riegsecker]

Welcome Rick, This really is a great forum. 13'x23' shop, huh? Mine is about 21'x23' I just lost my last excuse:eek:

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Rick....Welcome to the 'Creek! Wade on in....the water's fine! Nice looking shop!

[Boyd Gathwright]

Rick,

....Ah, you have found the secret to good woodworking.

....Welcome aboard and good luck :cool:.

Boyd

.

New member here. I've been lurking for a little while and thought I would go ahead and jump in... expand my horizons, so to speak. :) I am a self employed remodeling contractor. I was a senior design engineer with Nortel, but when telecomm when south, I went elsewhere (best thing that ever happened to me). I've been in the business for ~3 years now and loving every minute of it. My current projects are a builtin wall unit for a customer and a mahogany hall table for my wife. My shop is ~13' x 23'. I get quite a bit of work done in this small shop, though an outbuilding is in my future. I've found the secret to a small shop is organization and cleaning between projects. Below are a few pictures of my shop.



Thanks for looking.

[Bob Noles]

Hi Rick and welcome to a wonderful group of people.


What can I say that hasn't already been said? That is an excellent shop although a little too neat :) I am very much a neat freak also and like to keep my work area clean and organized. I think it makes for a more enjoyable experience and certainly a much safer one as well. I hope to get some pictures in here as soon as I finish my re-build in the next week or two. Just one of those things.... I want it just right for the photo secession :cool:

Look forward to seeing you around often.

[John Bailey]

Rick,

Welcome to the Creek. Your shop looks great. I like the idea of cleaning up also. Although it would appear you're a bit more fanatic than I.

John

[Jerry Olexa]

Looking @ your shop makes me nervous. VERY clean and well organized, I'm not worthy...:D

[Jim Becker]

Welcome aboard, Rick. Good deal with the cleat, too...a perfect way to keep even wall-hanging things mobile!

[Bill Lewis]

Yeah, I was blessed with 9' ceilings in the basement. The duct work runs down a utility corridor and up and between the joists to each drop.
I had to have 9' ceilings in the basement. The builder actually used a triple sill plate to make it a true 9' I lost 4" to the suspended ceiling.

Sounds like we have a very similar layout to the DC and also alot of the same tools too. Check out these posts pictures (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=17408) pictures (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=17390) to see what I mean. after the new X5 get's delivered, it'll be kinda scarey.:eek:

I have always had in the back of my mind a desire to somehow make the shop a negative pressure space. It really didn't occur to me to use the DC for that purpose, that's a great idea. Of course my DC isn't convienently located to do that now. :( Oh well, even the best laid plans...

Of course there is one thing that certainly differentiates your shop from mine, Yours is still neater, even after posting those "dirty pictures".

[Mark Singer]

Happy joining SMC....lots of nice folks and decnt jokes

[Bill Lewis]

One of these days I should post the pictures of my last "shop" in our last house. I actully took them so I could enter a messiest shop contest that some magazine was running. I still think I could have won hands down, but I was too disorganized to get them entered on time;)

I really like what I have now. I really can't wait to start working in there once it is complete. I hate being messy and disorganized. Having a dedicated space goes a long way to keeping that from happening.

[Karl Laustrup]

Welcome, Rick. Very nice and neat shop. I hated doing it when I was younger, but I clean the shop every night when I'm done now. Not near as nice as you're place though. :)

I suppose it would be a little far for the cleaning people that you have, come and do mine also? :confused: ;) :eek: :D

Could you take a picture when there is sawdust all around?, especially on the TS.

[Mike Holbrook]

Welcome aboard! Now you have done it, no way I can post the pictures of my little shop & big mess :)

[Ken Salisbury]

http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/welcomeplane.gif

http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/misc/moderator.gif

[Jim Dunn]

Real nice shop there. Just thinking do you clean as you go? I can't, believe it or not, stand to have a messy shop while I'm working. Don't have a enough room to put everthing in it's place but I try.

WELCOME to THE CREEK

[Rick Shelton]

Real nice shop there. Just thinking do you clean as you go? I can't, believe it or not, stand to have a messy shop while I'm working. Don't have a enough room to put everthing in it's place but I try.
I think that's the secret, to stay on top of it. I usually clean after each operation. After planing I'll run the shopvac, after routing I'll run the shopvac, etc. I don't spend long on it (a minute here or there), since I don't let it accumulate. As you can see the shopvac lives under the tablesaw and the hose is long enough to reach around the whole shop (nice thing about the Fein), so it doesn't take a lot of effort. I have fallen behind before. When that happens I'll take a hour or so to get it caught back up. I also don't operate any power tool without some kind of dust collection, either the Fein or the cyclone. Shopmade air filter and box fan in window also helps.

As far a clutter, I have a limited amount of work surface, so I can't afford to have it gather tools, etc. After each phase, I'll take the time to put the tool away. Again, doesn't take long since each tool has it's place. For all it's faults, pegboard IS highly configurable and easily accommodates small items. Putting things away also breaks the pace a bit, gives me time to plan out the next phase.

Convenience is key. If it were a chore to drag out the shop vac or to hunt for places to put tools away, I probably wouldn't do such a good job at it. I'd like to say that the size of my shop dictates my behaviours, but I'd probably do the same with a much larger area.

Sorry for the long explanation. (Starting to get a complex about being too clean! ;) )

Thanks.

[Bob Marino]

Thanks.

Ok, just so ya'll don't get the wrong idea about me, I went down and took a current photo. You can see the builtin stacked in the back, doors leaning against the wall, and the hall table on the workbench being finished. Hope this makes it look a little more "lived in". :p

http://img48.exs.cx/img48/1641/dscn07158jp.jpg


Rick,

This is what you mean by "lived in"? :eek: :eek: I hope one day my shop should ever looked so "lived in" :D
You are so correct that keeping things organized and clean is way more efficient. Question for you - why the Oneida dust cannister on wheels?

Bob

[Jim Becker]

Rick, since you have the cyclone, your shop vac usage should be limited to work surfaces assuming you put in a floor sweep! (Best thing since...pick your cliché!!) I have two and wouldn't give them up.

[Rick Shelton]

Rick,
Question for you - why the Oneida dust cannister on wheels?
Bob
I wheel it out the back door before emptying. I'll probably start using bags, so I'm sure it will lose any value for that reason. Also, I wanted the DC intake to be as high as possible (headroom), so I needed something to raise the cannister (probably the biggest reason). If you noticed, I used every inch of the flex duct that Oneida sent me to go between the cyclone and the canister.

Thanks.

[Jim Becker]

Rick...since I switched to the 55 gallon bins, I wouldn't go back! The 33 gallon fills up far too fast.

[Greg Hairston]

No Rick it doesn't give a better impression at all ;). In fact it just proves that you are not only an anal retentive about your shop but also your work. I just can't stand you guys with the neat shops and beautiful work. You all make me want to cry.... Why can't I be that organized.....:mad:

Really nice shop. You did a great job with the space and lay-out. You work appears to be top notch. Glad the career change is working out....

Oh yea Welcome to the creek..... You will love it here